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Cloister convents

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Alcalá de Henares (Spain)

FEEL THE CITY

Los conventos de clausura

The same way male religious orders founded their schools and convent-schools in Alcalá, madams also founded their places in the city, of which today there still exist some cloister convents. Staying in a convent means being hardly in contact with the outside world and not being visible to the rest of the people, either. Currently, there are not many cloister convents in Alcalá since they are getting disappeared year after year. Specifically in Alcalá, the Bernardas Convent was the most important of its class. It was founded by the Cardinal Bernardo de Sandoval in 1613, and its architect was Juan Gómez Mora. It is located in the ancient Moresque neighbourhood. It is a greatly luminous church, and has an uncommon oval ground plant typical in the renaissance mannerism. It is only a few years ago when the convent were still used for its initial purposes, but today it is closed because the small quantity of nuns living in it has left Alcalá and now are living in another convent.

The best caramel-coated almonds (almedras garrapiñadas), can be found in one of these city cloister convents, located at San Diego Square or University Square. If the visitor wants to buy the typical caramel-coated almonds, he or she has to approach to a turnstile, ring the bell and say the words “Conceived without sin” as an answer to the nun’s “Hail Mary” when approaching and greeting the visitor. After asking for the size of the almond bag they want, the money is deposited on the surface of the turnstile. Then they obtain the change and ‘of course’ the almonds, the same way.

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